Rocking to Zathura
by natsnell75
Summary: Zack finds Zathura in Summer's house. Now Summer, Zack, Freddy, Katie, Lawrence, Tomika, Alicia and Marta must survive a killer robot, Zorgons, and outer space in order to get back to Earth.
1. Chapter 1

Summer was in her house while Dewey was at a meeting. She was dribbling a basketball onto the floor while Zack, Freddy, Katie, Lawrence and Tomika, Alicia, and Marta were watching Codename: Kids Next Door on television. "I knew I should have brought a game or something to keep me entertained," Summer said. "It's not like I can bring out a video game out of thin air," Katie said. "I'll see if I can find something to do in the house," Zack said before getting up. "Good luck, Zack. You probably won't find anything good here," said Summer.

Zack looked around upstairs for something to do beside just sitting there watching television. He felt around and grabbed something off the top shelf of an upstairs closet in Summer's bedroom. He saw a name on the box: Zathura.

"Zathura? Never heard of it. Maybe Summer knows something about this," he said before coming downstairs.

"Hey Summer. I found this upstairs and was wondering it could tell me if it means anything."

"Let's see it," Summer said. Summer then put the box on the table and everyone gathered around to look at it.

"Zathura? What the heck is that?" asked Freddy. "Just a game that sends you on an interstellar adventure through space," answered Katie. "Let's seet this," Tomika said before opening the box and taking the game out.

"Interesting," Summer said as she got a look. "Where did you even get this?" Zack asked. "Just found it in a store. I thought it was cool, so I got it and brought it home," answered Summer. "Looks like there's only two pieces."

"So two of us have to start the game and keep on playing until someone wins."

"Who's up?"

"I'll do it," Summer volunteered. "So will I," Zack said. "All right. Go," Tomika said.

Summer then brought the game over to her, turned the key, and pressed the button. Seconds later, the red ship started moving and stopped. That was when a card came out and Tomika grabbed it. "Meteor shower. Take evasive action," she said.

"What does that mean?" asked Alicia. Soon, meteors came raining down out of nowhere and started destroying everything around them. "Watch it," Summer said as she covered Zack.

Moments later, the meteors stopped and all of them stood outside the living room. "What is it, Marta?" asked Tomkia. "The meteors only hit the living room," answered Marta.

"Why is that?" Tomika asked. "Must be the game," Marta replied pointing to the game.

Everyone came out to where Marta was and saw the meteors only hit the living room. "She's right. The meteor shower only hit where the game was," said Summer.

"Guys, you might want to see this," Marta said as she looked outside. All of them walked over to the door and looked outside.

"We're not in New York anymore," Freddy said. "No, we aren't," Summer said.


	2. Chapter 2

"Guys, you may want to see this," Marta said as she looked outside. Everyone walked over to the door and looked outside. "We're not in New York anymore," Freddy said. "No, we aren't," Summer said.

Outside, they saw Saturn and its icy rings. "What is that?" Tomika asked. "It's Saturn," answered Marta.

"I thought that was a weekday," said Lawrence. "That's Saturday," Summer said.

"No, that's a country in Asia."

"Saudi Arabia."

"No, that's the Man of Steel," Zack said. "That doesn't even make sense," Summer said. "Guys, don't. We have to keep playing the game," Tomika said. "That's true. If we want to get home, that's the only way to."

Everyone then went back into the house and walked back over to where Zathura was. "All right, I took my turn, so Zack goes next," Summer said. "Right," Zack said before pulling the game closer to him. "Turn the key. Press the button. Read the card." The card came out seconds later and he grabbed it. "You are promoted to Starship Captain. Move ahead two spaces," he read.

"Well, that was a waste of time," Freddy said as Zack threw the card away. "Got that right. Just a stupid promotion."

"Is there a bathroom in this place?" Tomika asked. "Right by the living room," said Freddy. "Thanks." Tomika then got up and walked to the bathroom right by.

"My turn," Summer said before putting the game closer to her. She turned the key, pressed the button and watched as her piece moved further ahead. The next card came out and Summer grabbed it. "Shipmate enters cryonic sleep chamber for five turns."

"What does that mean?" asked Alicia. She got her answer when all of them heard crackling from the bathroom. "Hey, Marta. Didn't Tomika go in there?" Zack asked. "Oh, man," Marta said as she got up.

All of them opened the door and walked to the bathroom door. Zack tried to open the door, but it was frozen in place. "Push harder," said Marta. "Who do I look like? The Hulk?" Seconds later, Zack was able to open the door and they all walked inside and saw a frozen Tomika.

"Zack!" said Summer. "Not my fault. I was down there with you," Zack defended. Summer then tapped her first against Tomika's skull. "Don't do that," Alicia said. "She's frozen like this for five turns. Think you can handle that kind of time?" Summer asked Marta. "Maybe. I'd probably lose hope after two turns, though," she replied. "Come on. We should get back to the living room," Alicia said. All of them followed her suggestion and went back to the living room.

"So let's assess the damage. So far, there was a meteor shower and Tomika's frozen. This turly is a great game we're playing," Alicia said.

"Just be lucky it isn't Jumanji we're playing. If it was, we'd still be on the ground but we'd also be facing a crazed hunter, a stampede, killer plants, spiders, and a lion. I say this is a lucky break from that," Summer said.

"That doesn't sound like shear terror all in one board game," Marta said.

"Trust me. It is."

"Let's see what's next to happen," Zack said before turning the key and pressing the button. He saw his piece move and stop, causing a card to come out. He grabbed it and read what it said. "Your robot is defective."

"Zack, you don't even have a robot," Katie said. All of them then heard thundering footsteps getting closer and closer to them. Soon, a tiny robot with red eyes and metal pinchers came along. Katie, Lawrence, Freddy, Alicia and Marta snickered at the sight of it.

"That's it? I was expecting more than puny tin can," Lawrence said. "Maybe it'll stick its big brother to us." Because Katie, Lawrence, Freddy, Alicia and Marta were taunting the robot, they didn't see it increase in size.

"Emergency," the robot said. The kids heard its booming voice and turned around. "You think we insulted it?" Alicia asked. "Alien life form. Must destroy." The robot then grabbed Summer's neck with one of its pincers.

"I think it does. Either that or it thinks I'm an alien," Summer said. "Not good," Zack said.


	3. Chapter 3

"I think it does. Either that or it thinks I'm an alien," Summer said. "Not good," Zack said. "Freddy, do something. I'm too young to be terminated!"

"All right. Just know I haven't done anything like this before," Freddy said before spin dashing the robot. The spin dash was enough to cause the robot to release Summer from its iron grip. She knew it was steamed because steam blew out of its 'nostrils'.

Summer went over to the game and took her turn. "Come on. I'm about to be killed," she said. Soon a card came out and she grabbed it before running off.

"What does it say?" Marta asked. Moments later, everything started to move to the front of the house. Outside the window was a planet resembling the sun. Its name was Tsouris-3 and it had a strong gravitational field.

Everything from the outside of the house was being pulled to the surface of the planet while everything inside was being pulled to the front of the house. Even the frozen Tomika was pulled away from her original position.

"You pass too close to Tsouris-3. Enter gravity field," said Summer. "That's so not good," Alicia said as she held onto one of the walls. "No, it's not," said Katie as she tried to keep her bearings. Zack was doing the same thing while Freddy and Summer were trying hard to avoid the robot who was programmed to kill Summer.

The robot leaped forward with its newly equipped saw-blade and tried to slice Summer into a million pieces. It then looked at her left shoe and got the idea to grab her by it. It leaped forward and grabbed her shoe. Luckily, the robot and Summer went two different ways. The robot leaped into the basement while Numbuh 3 landed near one of the walls.

Soon, Tsouris-3 disappeared from view and everything returned to normal. "Man, that was something. I seriously throught you were gonna end up dead," Alicia said.

"And be away from Marta? Never. Nothing can kill me. I'm invincible," said Summer. "Don't be so sure about that. Everything can happen. You might perish in an explosion," Marta said. "Yeah, right. The day will come when the silly Summer meets his end," Summer said.

"Someone should probably fix something up to eat," Zack suggested. "Probably a good idea. We're all starving," Summer said before walking into the kitchen.

Everyone was waiting when Summer came back into the living room with a bowl of spaghetti for Zack, some pizza for Freddy, a sandwich for Katie, a cupcake for Lawrence, a hot dog for Alicia, and a hamburger for Marta.

Zack then pulled the game closer to him and took his turn. The card came out and he grabbed it. "You are promoted to Fleet Admiral. Move ahead four spaces," he said reading the card. His piece then moved four spaces and he threw away the card.

"Waste of time," said Summer. She then pulled the game closer to her and took her turn. "Turn the key. Press the button. Ship moves. Card comes out." She grabbed the card and read it. "You are visited by Zorgons," she read.

Soon, an alien ship came by and unleashed a deafening screech, then stopped in front of them. "Maybe they're friendly," Alicia asked. "With a ship like that? Yeah, right," Zack scoffed. Soon, a cannon appeared and they took cover before it fired.

"See? I told you."

"What can I say? You were right."

"Now what can we do?" Marta asked. "Easy. I can do this," Zack said before taking his turn. His ship moved and a card popped out. "Reprogram? Cheap game. It cheated me and gave me a lousy card."

"Better save it for later. You might need it for later," Summer suggested. "Good idea," Zack said before the putting the card away in his pocket. "Thanks."

"Friends help out friends."

The Zorgons kept opening fire on the house and Summer was forced to take her turn. The ship moved and a card popped out. "Rescue stranded astronaut," Summer said as she read the card.

"What astronaut?" Marta asked. "It has to be some astronaut or something," Numbuh 3 said before an astronaut appeared. All of them went to the front door and waited for the astronaut to come in. The astronaut flew in, disengaged his helmet, and removed it.


	4. Chapter 4

"Which one of you spun me?" the astronaut asked. "Who was it?" "Summer," said Zack pointing to Summer. "Don't be so quick to sell out your friend, Zack. She's a part of the band," the astronaut said. "How'd you know my name?"

Another shot was fired off by the Zorgons and shook the house. "Looks like you got a pretty serious Zorgon problem," the astronaut said. "What do we do?" asked Wally. "Hide," the astronaut replied. "Hide? They'll just destroy the whole house," Alicia said. "We're gonna hide the house."

The astronaut then walked over to the kitchen and started rifling through the cabinets and drawers while the band watched. "Summer, Zack. Turn off all the lights and electrical appliances," the astronaut said. "All right. Come on, Summer," Zack said before he and Summer walked off.

"Marta, kill the flame on the stove." Marta walked over to the pot of water that Summer used to cook the spaghetti for Zack, grabbed it, and moved it to the counter beside him. "Burning gas. That's probably what brought them in the first place," the astronaut said. He found what he was looking for and grabbed it. "Okay. Now get the pilot light on the furnace."

"What's a pilot light?"

"In the basement. Little blue flame under the big heater. Blow it out like a candle. Like this," the astronaut said before blowing out the flame on the stove.

Marta walked to the basement, but saw sparks coming from there and knew the robot was self-repairing itself. She ran back upstairs and over to a thermostat. She had the idea to lower the intensity of the pilot light.

Meanwhile, Summer and Zack were turning off the lights around the house. After they were done, the Zorgon ship stalled and stopped in place.

"Just a little more."

"What are you doing?" Summer asked. "That's my parents' nap couch."

"Just making something for the Zorgons to follow," the astronaut replied before throwing a match on the couch and setting it ablaze. "You wanna help me get this out of here?"

Summer and Zack pushed the ignited couch closer to the door and the astronaut pushed it out with his foot. "Come on. Hit it. Follow it," he said. The Zorgon ship followed the burning couch to wherever it was going. "Zorgons. They're big gnarly lizards. Cold-blooded heat seekers. And the tiniest spark of warmth will bring them in like moths. Flying all around the galaxy looking for anything they could find to burn up."

"Why don't they just burn up their own planet?" Lawrence asked. "Oh, they already did. That's not even the worst of it. The real problem is their ravenous appetite. They never stop eating," the astronaut said.

"What do they eat?"

"Meat."

"That's good," Zack said.

"Zack, you're meat," the astronaut said as the Zorgons kept following the couch away from the house.

All of them were gathered in the living room waiting for the astronaut. "Why haven't you guys started yet?" he asked as he walked into the room. "We were just waiting for you," Zack replied.

"Well, I'm here. I'm sure you know how to take your turn."

"Yeah, I do. You just turn the key, press the button when it pops up, watch the ship move, and grab the card once it comes out."

As soon as Zack finished going to the steps of taking a turn, the card came out and he grabbed it. "Lose map of galaxy. Go back two spaces," he read before his ship moved back two spaces and he threw the card away.

The bathroom was no longer frozen and neither was Tomika. "Man, so cold. It's like the Zack episode all over again," she said before going to the thermostat.

She then set the thermostat to a higher temperature and went back to the team. "Hey, guys," Tomika said as she walked back to them.

"Hey, Tomika. Is it just me or is it feeling a little warmer in here?" Summer asked. "No, it's not just you. I feel it too," Zack said.

"Might as well ignore it and move on with the game."

Summer then took her turn and a golden card came out. "Shooting star. Make a wish as it passes," she read.

"What shooting star?" Zack asked. He got his answer when a bright light came by and all of them saw a shooting star.

"It's beautiful," said Katie. Summer then closed her eyes and focused on something to wish for. She opened her eyes moments later and the star disappeared.

"What did you wish for?" Tomika asked. "Nothing because I have everything I need in New York."

"That's pretty good logic," Zack said. "You can always count on Summer for a reliable and wise explanation," Freddy said.

They were startled by a hook appearing through the roof. They all looked at it and knew the Zorgons were back. "Who turned up the heat?" asked the astronaut. "I did. Now I know I shouldn't have," Tomika eplied. "No kidding."

A blast came from the other side of the house, so they went over there and found no trace of the room or the game.

"Damn. The Zorgons got their lizard hands on the game," Freddy said. "We're screwed," the astronaut said.


	5. Chapter 5

Everyone was sitting on the stairs, thinking about the fact that Zathura was now in the hands of the zorgons. "Now we can't get back home," Summer said. "We can't just give up," Zack said. "Look around. Do you see Zathura lying around here somewhere?"

"Don't get mad at Zack, Summer. There is a way we can get the game back," the astronaut said. "How?" Summer asked. "Didn't he say the Zorgons would be brought in by the tiniest spark of warmth?"

"Yes, I did say that. I also get what I'm talking about. Gather everything wooden you can find and bring it all back here," the astronaut said. Everyone then went off to grab all the wood they could find. Zack and the astronaut tore off the railing and banisters from the stairs, Summer and Katie unhinged every door they could find, Tomika, Alicia and Marta gathered up chairs, brooms, and cabinet doors and Freddy and Lawrence grabbed as many floorboards as he could.

All of them then grouped up back where they were before. Katie laid the remains of the brooms around and set up the area where the fire would be. "All right. That should bring in the Zorgons like moths," the astronaut said as he got a matchbook out.

Everyone stared at him because of how he had a matchbook on him. "What? You never know when you might need one of those."

He then lit one of the matches by striking it against the coarse surface and threw it onto the pile of wood and set it ablaze. "Soon. The Zorgons will be here soon enough. Just wait and see," the astronaut said.

Minutes passed and the Zorgons haven't shown their reptilian faces yet. "Zack, are you sure this will work?" Summer asked Zack who was currently carving something on the wall. "Sure, I'm sure. It's like I said: 'And the tiniest spark of warmth will bring them in like moths'. They'll be here." Zack resumed his carving while Summer was focusing on it. "What are you doing?"

"Just making a chart of everything that's happened ever since the game started. Zack got the robot, the Reprogram card, the two promotions, and the lost galaxy map. Summer got the frozen Sally, the shooting star, the Zorgons, Tsouris-3 and the astronaut," said Summer as she wrapped up her carving.

Soon, an alien ship appeared by the side of the house and all of them went over to investigate. "Back up," the astronaut said quietly. "Now what?" asked Zack. "One of us has to sneak on aboard. Should be easy for me and Zack," said Summer.

"All right. Wish us luck. Summer, let's go," Zack said before turning invisible. "Right behind you," Summer said before she followed Zack in turning invisible. Freddy couldn't see them too well, but she knew they were going the right way.

Zack jumped off the rope he was running along and onto the Zorgon ship. Summer jumped off the rope she ran along and met him on his level. "Okay. The game should be close by. We just have to find it," Zack said hushed. "All right. I'll take that way and you'll go that way," Summer said. "Good plan, beautiful."

"Thanks."

Summer and Zack split up and took their separate routes. Zack found the room where a Zorgon was burning some stuff they must have captured. He looked for the game and saw it about to become fuel. "All right. I just need to get that game," he said before jumping onto the conveyor belt Zathura was on. "Almost. I'm almost there." Zack grabbed the game and pulled it over to him.

"Sweet. Just need to haul some fur," he said before jumping off the conveyor belt. He started running when he saw some Zorgons heading his way. "Crap!" He turned around and one of the Zorgons attached his tongue to his back. "Don't concentrate on the tongue. Don't concentrate on the tongue," he said to himself. The Zorgon detached his tongue and the two aliens ran up to Zack. He knew that was his cue to haul fur and get back to home base.

"Come on. Summer, where are you?"

As if on cue, Summer and Zack ran into each other. "Zack, what where you're going," Summer said. "I didn't really have a choice. Look," Zack said pointing behind me. "Move it!"

Summer and Zack took off runing back to the house. They ran along the ropes back to where the others were. "You got it!" Tomika said.

"It wasn't easy, but we did."

"Nice job," Alicia said. "Thanks," Summer said. Soon, three Zorgons appeared and forced Summer and Zack to be backed up to the basement. "Now what?" Marta asked. "I can't think because of the panic I'm feeling," Summer said.

They heard yelping coming from the other side of the door before it was destroyed. "Oh, great. Not this guy again."

In front of Summer and Zack was the robot that almost killed Zack before. "Alien life form. Must destroy," it said before wrapping its metal pincer around Zack's neck. "That thing still wants to kill me," he said.

"Quick. Here. Use this." Summer then handed him the Repgoram card and Zack held it in front of the robot's chest. "Reprogram."

The smaller robot who was inside the main robot's chest saw the order and fixed the programming. The robot powered down the re-powered itself. It let go of Zack's neck and headed straight for the Zorgons. "Alien life form. Must destroy."

The robot then opened its back and revealed rocket boosters. It rushed ahead and attacked the Zorgons. The aliens leaped back up to there and the robot followed. Outside, one of the Zorgons ran into the other before exploding.

"So that's what the Reprogram does," Zack said. "Yeah. I've seen the movie," Summer said. They looked around for Tomika but didn't see her or notice the Zorgon about to bite their heads off. Soon, a piano was pushed down and crushed the Zorgon before it could make us dinner.

"Tomika is right here," Tomika said. "What fell?" the astronaut asked as he came over to them. He saw the crushed Zorgon and destroyed piano. "Nice job, Tomika. Come on. We gotta wrap up this game before the Zorgon armada shows."


	6. Chapter 6

All of them ran over to the living room to wrap up the game and get back home. "All right. It should be Zack's turn now," Summer said. "It is because Summer got the shooting star on the last turn," Katie said. Zack then pulled the game up closer to him and took his turn. The next card came out and Zack grabbed it. "Flunk space academy. Go back one space," he read before his ship moved back a space.

"I'm not even going to comment on that."

It was Summer's turn now and she pulled the game closer to her and took her turn. "Hit time warp. Go back three spaces. Repeat last turn," she read. Her ship went back three spaces and another golden card came out. "Another wish."

"That's cool," Lawrence commented. Soon, a second shooting star appeared and Summer stood in front of it. "I wish Zack had Billy back," she said quietly. Soon, the star passed on and Billy stood in its place. "Billy," Zack said. "Zack," Billy said. "Is it really you?"

"It is. I'm glad to see you again." Zack crashed into Billy and enjoyed the moment of being reunited with his friend.

"Zack," Summer said. "What is it?" Zack asked. "She's not going to last forever. Sorry."

"Damn. I actually thought you ahve to come back to me."

"I'm sorry, too. At least we have othis one moment in time," Billy said. "Yeah. That's true," Zack said. "At least you get your wish and be reunited with Billy like you always wanted," Summer said. "Thanks, Summer."

"Like I said, friends help out friends."

"Hey, Zack. Can I talk to you for a minute?" the astronaut asked. "Sure," Zack replied before he walked over to the astronaut. "You did a good job. Even though Billy won't last forever, you brought him back to Zack. That was epic."

"Thanks."

"Make sure Summer gets home safe and sound," the astronaut said. "He will. I'll make sure of it," the astronaut said. The astronaut then put his hand on his shoulder and started to turn into the original Zack. He then turned into sparks and returned to Zack's body. "He was me," said Zack. "Looks like that takes care of that." Soon, a blast from outside the front door took it off the hinges.

Outside, an entire fleet of Zorgon ships appeared and one of them fired off a shot that shook the house. "Come on, Summer. We gotta end this," Zack said. "Right. Come on," Summer said as she took her turn. Outside, the Zorgons kept opening fire on the house and destroying everything. The spinner of the game stopped on a one and Summer was disappointed. "A one? Really?" Summer's ship then moved the one space and stopped.

Seconds later, the card came out and Summer grabbed it. "Would you like to swing on a star? Move ahead nine spaces." Summer's ship then moved the rest of the way to Zathura. "Summer, you won," Zack said. "I won?" Summer asked. "He won?" Billy asked. "You won, Summer! You beat the game!"

"Yes! I reached Zathura!"

"Nice job, Summer!"

All of them watched as Zathura spun, lifted itself off the board and turned into a dazzling light-show. Soon, the show finished and the final card came out. "Game over. Thank you for playing," Summer said. "That's it?" Billy asked. "Now what?" Zack asked.

All of them then listened to what was going on and heard nothing. Summer stood up and looked at the wall. "I think we're back."

Soon, a hook planted itself in the wall and pulled it away. All the Zorgon ships were being pulled into a black hole. "Summer get down," Katie said before pushing her down. Unfortunately, that didn't keep her safe from the force of the black hole and she was sucked it. "Katie!" Summer said before grabbing onto the game board. She saw the two ships being pulled back to their original position.

Pieces of the house and the others were pulled into the black hole while Summer, Zack, and Billy held onto the board. "Zathura's a black hole! I don't believe it!" Billy shouted. "Believe it. This is exactly how the movie ended: the kids got sucked into Zathura and everything was restored."

Soon, Summer lost her grip and was sucked into Zathura. "Summer!"

"Don't worry! You'll see her again hopefully," Zack said. Soon, the force of Zathura was too much even for Zack. "Zack!" Billy screamed as Zack was pulled in.

Billy found himself back in Summer's house, looked around and saw Summer was right. Everything was back in its right place and nothing was destroyed. "Billy! You're back!" he heard Summer say. He turned his head and saw her and the others around him and Zathura in front of him.

"Maybe we had enough of this game," Billy said before putting the game back in its box. "That's right. We had enough of that. It's nice to know that you're back with me."

"That's strange. I could've sworn that Billy would've been in another story," Summer said. "Yeah, but I decided to bring Billy back in this story. You're welcome, Summer," a voice said. "Thanks," Summer said. "No problem."

"I'm sure we can find something less dangerous to do," Zack said. "Maybe. I know I'm not playing Zathura or Jumanji any time soon," Tomika said. "Good. I saw the movie and trust me when I say that would've been a thrill ride of an adventure."

Summer's parents just got back from work. Everyone walked over to her and told them about the game and their dangerous adventure. "Sounds like a lot of fun," Mr. Hathaway commented. "Listen. It's almost four o'clock and Axel Rhodes the tour bus is going to be here any minute," Mrs. Hathaway told everyone. "Grab all your supplies, whatever you need to bring to the concert. C'mon. Get ready to go."


End file.
